Waking Up to Love
by lalalove-Rae
Summary: This is the 21st century not Medieval Europe. Arranged marriages don’t exist anymore, they just don’t." A modern-day retelling of Sleeping Beauty Disney's version Longer summary inside. R/Em. AU/AH. Rated M for strong language and adult themes
1. Medieval Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I am not, nor will I ever be SM. Nor did I dream up Sleeping Beauty. Walt Disney owns the rights to my favorite fairytale plot. (I'm going by the Disney version, not the Brothers' Grimm.)**

A/n: This is my first fic. Well, first continued fic anyway. I really hope that you enjoy it! Lots of love to my beta xrxdanixrx.

I'm also uploading to Twilighted, but since chapters have to be approved to get on there, I'll be updating on here a lot more quickly.

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**Summary: Rebelling against her father's orders, Rosalie is on her own for the first time. She's working as a nanny in the Hamptons when sparks fly with with her sexy neighbor. But is he really who he says he is? Finding your true love is hard enough, it's even harder when you're already technically engaged to someone else. Rated M for language and adult themes NOT smut.**

Ch1 Medieval Beginnings

RPOV

I, Rosalie Hale, reigning It Girl of Upper Eastside Manhattan, am over. Finished. My life is ruined, and it's my father's damn fault. How could he do this to me?? This is the 21st century not Medieval Europe. Arranged marriages don't exist anymore, they just don't. I won't be handed over to some selfish, entitled jerk, especially not so that my father can use me to promote his company by cuddling up to son of his old buddy, the Senator.

It all started when my father called me into his office earlier this afternoon to discuss my spending habits…

*****

"_Rosalie, would you like to tell me who the hell this Zac Posen is, and why I just paid him $150,000?!" I could see a vein starting to pulse on my father's forehead. I tried to avoid his sharp gaze as I scrambled for an acceptable explanation. "This had better not be for another damn scrap of silk you think passes as a dress."_

_**Oh shit. This was not going to go well.**_

_I had been hoping that Mother would have been here to smooth things over…_

"_Daddy, you remember that museum opening you sponsored last month, the green dress I wore?" I asked. He nodded, although I knew he had no idea which particular dress I was referring to. "Mother thought that it would be a good idea if I wore that dress in the feature article Elle Magazine is doing on me. And well…since it was only supposed to be on loan to me for that one afternoon, I had to reimburse Zac somehow…" I did feel bad for not telling him about the dress sooner, but Mother insisted that she would handle everything._

_His silence was worse than shouting. I didn't know what to think. He usually just ranted about how one little piece of fabric sewn up prettily couldn't possibly be worth anything, but this time was different. This time he just sat there not saying a word, with an oddly pensive frown. Although visibly calmer, that vein now looked like it was trying to jump off his head. I couldn't help the small giggle that escaped my lips._

_His head snapped up and he did the strangest thing. He laughed. My sigh of relief was audible. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"_

"_Rosalie, my darling." _

_**Well shit, he only called me darling when he wanted me to do something he knew I wasn't going to like.**_

"_You know I've been thinking, and it's about time you settled down with someone, start a family."_

"_WHAT? Father, I don't understand. I'm only 21, I couldn't possibly! I…I haven't even finished school. And…and what about Johnnie?! I couldn't possibly __**demand**__ for him to marry me. What would he think?" Ok, so what I kicked his sorry ass out of my life last week, what father didn't know couldn't hurt him. He hated John, and I knew that he would never approve of me marrying him. _

"_Oh, no. No, I'm not talking about one of the men you string along for a month or so, only to drop without any warning. I have someone else in mind for you, someone better. Someone who I think will suit you quite well." He paused for a moment, a confidant smile on his face. But upon seeing my face he hastily continued. "Now I know that this is quite a shock, but I really think that this is for the best. Rosalie you are a wonderful girl, but you live you life with your head in the clouds. You have no idea the value of a dollar. Why, you wouldn't be able to survive one day without my money. I don't know what else to do with you. You spend money like it grows on trees. I know that I am more fortunate than most, but…"_

_**Blah, Blah, BLAH. Here we go again. **__I had heard all of it before and had no desire for a repeat performance. I put on what I liked to call my 'spoiled rich girl' face. "Father," I interrupted. "I could go on a budget. And it was really Mother who insisted I have that dress. I can return it."_

"_Rosalie, this isn't only about one dress. It's about all the dresses. And the hair appointments, and the nails appointments, and God knows what else. I'll never understand the things you women do."_

_At this point, I was close to tears, but I refused to cry. I would not let my frustration ruin my façade. If he thought I was simply another dimwitted society girl, I could put on that act for him. I would just have to come up with some kind of plan to get me out of this. I had dreams, aspirations. And NONE of them included marriage._

"_Father I really think you should think this through. Marriage is a big step, a really big step. I don't think I'm ready," I simpered_

"_That's enough. I don't need or want to hear your complaints. I've already arraigned everything. Do you remember me telling about how I lived with Senator McCarty back at Yale?"_

_What I really wanted to know was how the hell he thought he could get away with forcing me into getting married. But I could listen. For now._

"_Well his son Wilfred or Freddie, as his family calls him, is going to run for his father's seat next term. Senator McCarty thought it would be best if Freddie were to have a woman by his side. He is concerned that the lack of companionship Freddie has been experiencing lately might lead the press to believe that he *hem* … lives an __**alternative**__ lifestyle."_

"_Is he gay?" I asked, slightly more hopeful._

"_Of course not my dear, the poor boy is just experiencing a…rough patch. But you'll soon fix that right up." He added a cheeky wink, which only added further insult to injury. "Now back to the point. Seeing as you needed to settle down as well, I proposed that the two of you young'uns make a match of it and Senator McCarty agreed with me."_

"_Father, please. I don't want to get married. I refuse." __**Marriage in itself was out of the question, not without love. And it was especially out of the question for some asinine puppet that was so desperate he had to have his father find him a date.**_

"_There is not thing to refuse my pet. You'll be very happy with Freddie. They're very rich you know. You'll be able to buy all of the dresses and shoes your little heart desires, and all of that press wouldn't hurt my company either. It's for the best of everyone."_

"_You don't understand, Father." I could see that pretending to be ridiculous would get me no further. I had to assert myself. I stood up straighter, and dropped the simpering look from my face. With my hands clasped in front of me, I locked gazes with my father and said, "I cannot and will not marry for anything less than love. You cannot expect me to go through with this. What does Mother have to say about it?"_

_Taken aback from my sudden shift in demeanor, my father looked away, with some guilt marring his face. But that didn't stop him from continuing. "Your Mother is thrilled. She agreed that this is the best course for everyone. In fact, she has already started planning the wedding. I actually think she was quite upset she wasn't doing that sooner. We both thought you and Royce would have made a lovely couple."_

_**Royce. Ugh. **__"__I thought we agreed to never mention his name again."_

"_Rosalie, darling, it's been a few years and you never did tell me why you two broke things off…"_

_**Because he was an asshole who broke my heart and then stomped all over it. **_"_I told you father, we just weren't right for each other. I don't want to talk about it."_

"_True, true. No point in dwelling on the past when we have your future to plan."_

"_You mean while you plan my future. I'm not doing it."_

"_That is enough out of you, Missy. You are marrying the Senators son, you will go out on his campaign and promote my company, and you will be happy. Or, you can get out now. I will not have my daughter disobey me." _

_**Ahhhhh! **__Silently screaming on the inside, I kept my face outwardly calm. "Fine, if that's the way that you feel, I will leave."_

"_I'll cut you off. You will no longer be my daughter, no more money, no more drivers, no more fancy parties."_

"_Fine."_

"_Rosalie, I'm warning you. The real world is no place for a girl like you. You wouldn't survive one day out there. Simply marry Freddie and stop all this foolishness."_

"_I won't. And if that's the girl you think I am, I'm already no longer your daughter. You don't know me and you don't know what I can do. Good-bye father, I won't be seeing you." And with that I walked out of his office, my head held high. _

_I grabbed my purse from where I had tossed it on the sofa and walked out the front door. It wasn't until I got to the elevator that I let the first tears fall._

*****

So there I was, sitting on a park bench in the semi-secluded area next to Shakespeare's Garden, crying. But I knew that I had to get my self under control. I would not give in to this. I was stronger than that. Plus the few passersby were giving me strange glances.

I started wiping away my angry tears and began to think things through. My father probably hadn't had time to cancel all of my credit cards yet, so I'd merely go withdraw as much cash each card would allow. I didn't want to have anything to do with him, but taking some of his precious money seemed like poetic justice. It wouldn't be much, but it would get me started.

**But, fuck, where can I stay****?** There was no way in hell I was going back to the penthouse. I wasn't going back until my father apologized.

I pulled out my phone and hit the first speed dial. She answered on the first ring. "Dollface!"

"Alice, I need you. I just can't go home right now. It's my dad, he…well, he was threatening to cut me off and I left--"

That was all I could get out before I had Alice screaming in my ear "Oh. My. God! Rosalie Hale what have you done now?!?! I can't believe your father kicked you out!!"

**How did she know already? Never mind, it was Alice. She always knew everything, almost before it happened sometimes. It was like she was a psychic or something.**

Her voice dropped to an acceptable level, but began to spew out so fast I could barely follow. "You poor baby, you must need a place to stay. Ohhh, Oh!"

I could practically see her dancing around her room excitedly.

"You've got to come and stay at our new house in the Hamptons. You'll adore it! Bella's here for the summer too!! She and Edward are getting really serious. But let me tell you, being with the two of them is such a bore. I can tell they still haven't had sex yet. Not that I know for certain or anything, I don't watch them. I just know, ya know? Bella needs to learn to loosen up. And Eddie isn't much better; I swear my brother is such a freak. Who waits for marriage anymore?"

"Alice!" I managed to break into her prattle. "I think it's sweet." Ignoring her snorts, I began my tirade. "Marriage is what this whole damn mess is about. My dad is trying to force me to marry some senator's son. Who fucking does that? I am Rosalie Hale. I can have whatever man I want, not some loser my father decided on. And, to make it worse, he cut me off. I've got next to no money and I need you right now…"

That's when I lost it again. Sobs racked my body as I let out more tears than I ever knew was humanly possible.

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EPOV

I can't believe my dad just told me that I was engaged to some chick. How could he have done this to me? I was perfectly capable of finding someone and falling in love on my own. But no, according to my father, if I had any hope of winning his seat next term, I had to be married. So like every other aspect of my life, he just took control and arraigned everything without even bothering to tell me until it was all over. If he thought he could get away with it, I bet he wouldn't have told me until the day of.

And he it wasn't just any chick, it was some damn socialite princess who probably only cared about what time her next hair appointment was, or how her dress compared to some other girl's dress. They were all the same, fake hair, fake tans, fake breasts, fake, fake, fake. It was sickening. And they all fawned over me, Senator McCarty's perfect son. Couldn't they see I was nothing like that?

First of all, there was that name, Wilfred, or "Freddie" as my dad liked to call me. God, I loathed that name. Seriously, what were the 'rents thinking? I preferred my middle name, Emmett. When I would try to get my father to call me that though, he would tell me, "I gave you that name for a reason boy. It belonged to your great-grandfather, the first of our family to hold an elected office. Be proud of your heritage." I hated it. It wasn't that I disliked my ancestor or anything, the name just died out about the same time as he did. Plus it just didn't suit me. It was the name of a saint, and I was far from saintly.

And second, because I was following in my father's senatorial footsteps, girls would throw themselves at me. This wouldn't be all that bad, because hell, I'm a man, I enjoy women. But these scheming harpies were only trying to get themselves pregnant so they could trap me into the marriage we would be forced into to avoid a scandal. Guess that wouldn't a problem anymore as I was now taken.

Life sucked.

So I made my way out to do the only thing that could calm me down, working on my car. It was a real beauty, a red Jeep Wrangler. I knew I could have whatever fancy, expensive car I wanted, but I loved my jeep. None of the flashy imports would be able to survive the Tennessee backwoods like it. Plus, it was fast as all shit since I made my modifications. I loved the wind in my hair as I tore down a long stretch of open road.

The familiar tools felt good in my hands as I started the process of yet another tune up. As I worked, I couldn't stop thinking of my upcoming nuptials which caused me to slice my finger on a piece of the radiator. "Fuckit," I grunted as I slammed my other fist down on the top of the jeep.

I couldn't get this shit out of my head and it was driving me crazy. I figured the best thing to do would be to get away. Tennessee was great in a lot of ways, but it didn't offer much in the form of distractions. I had to go somewhere and clear my head. Maybe a change of scenery would show me a way out of this mess.

My Uncle Aro was after me to stay with his wife and kids up in the Hamptons and watch after them. He was pretty alright guy, a judge and all that shit. He was on track for a seat on the Supreme Court which pretty much meant that he was not around much for his boys. They could use a guy around the place. Plus, I knew Uncle worried about them being alone and unprotected in that big house. I figured that was as a good of an escape as I was going to get.

I'm not sure I'd make much of a body guard, but I was fairly imposing. Make that very imposing. At 6'5" and built like a wrestler, I intimidated most people. It was usually funny to watch my dad's peer's faces when they were introduced to me for the first time. I liked to think that they were imagining me to be his security, not his son.

Sighing heavily, I packed up my tools. I'd call Aro in the morning to tell him I was in. Now, all I had to do was figure out some way to tell my dad I was going to be MIA this summer.

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a/n: Thanks for reading!! I sure hope that you liked it. You can tell me all about what you thought in a review, hint hint. ;) Check out the links on my profile to see who I envision playing "my" characters.

And because I love her, this chapter goes out to Whatever Makes You Break. Happy Birthday again doll, ily!! Sorry it took me so long to post!

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I am so sorry to be doing this, but I'm putting this on hiatus. School and life in general are kicking my ass and I have had no time to work on this at all. I mean to write a lot over SBX but instead I went to PCB. Let's just say it was an...interesting week. (we got kicked out of the condo...)

Plus I know y'all liked this, but there's so much wrong with it. It's gonna undergo some major revisions. My plan for now is to write the entire fic and then post it weekly or bi-weekly once I've perfected it. I will finish it b/c I love the idea. I just have no time right now. I'm leaving. First b/c I'm inspired by all your lovely comments. And second, so that when I do finally write it, y'all with be the first to know.

xoxo, Rae

ps- Follow me on Twitter! www[dot]twitter[dot]com/RaeMarie_xoxo :: I love making new friends :D Just make sure you tell me who you are lol.


	2. AN So, What?

Hey y'all,

I know I said that I would be finishing this, but how many of you are actually interested in it? I've had some really tough things happening in RL and I'm not sure if I have the heart to keep writing. If you want me too, please please let me know, because if I don't hear back from anyone, I'm gonna just take it down.

xxoo, Rae

ps- Follow me on Twitter, I'm RaeMarie_xoxo :)


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